As I mentioned, we woke on New Years Eve morning with firecrackers going off. Throughout the day we continue to hear occasional booms and see bottle rockets.
A tradition is for Ecuadorians to display effigies, a model of persons, and then burn them at midnight. The idea is to end the old year and start afresh with the new year. During the last few days we have seen vendors selling 2-3 foot dummies and a variety of paper mâché masks to put on them. Some people buy their effigies, others build them themselves. In addition to the effigies on display in front of homes the city has a number of larger displays prepared by groups that have been put up in the intersections or courtyards.
We have a scrumptious lasagna dinner made by Jim and Sally, with them being creative in compensating with some of the local ingredients. Our friend Evelyn joins us for dinner and to explore the city afterwards. She has also identified five areas within walking distance that have the larger displays of effigies.
A tradition is for Ecuadorians to display effigies, a model of persons, and then burn them at midnight. The idea is to end the old year and start afresh with the new year. During the last few days we have seen vendors selling 2-3 foot dummies and a variety of paper mâché masks to put on them. Some people buy their effigies, others build them themselves. In addition to the effigies on display in front of homes the city has a number of larger displays prepared by groups that have been put up in the intersections or courtyards.
We have a scrumptious lasagna dinner made by Jim and Sally, with them being creative in compensating with some of the local ingredients. Our friend Evelyn joins us for dinner and to explore the city afterwards. She has also identified five areas within walking distance that have the larger displays of effigies.
At 9:30 pm with larger neighborhood fireworks going off in the background we leave the condo for the first effigy location. It is in the courtyard of El Vergal church, approximately a 20 minute walk along the riverfront path. The courtyard is filled with people, food vendors and larger-than-life effigies. People are setting off bottle rockets and firecrackers right within the crowd. Just as we are about to leave a firetruck pulls up with a open air truck behind filled with 20-25 clowns. They jump out and the crowd becomes even more animated.
From El Vergal we walk 25 minutes to the first of the four larger displays in El Centro. Each is making what appears to be a social comment, but we're not entirely sure of the message. Interestingly one of the displays is about Barak Obama loving Castro. Another comments on healthcare. The crowd is equally as interesting as the displays.
Larger fireworks are going off across the city. At midnight the effigies are piled up and the streets of El Centro (and most neighborhoods of the city) are filled with with bonfires. It almost looks like a war zone. In several cases the bonfires are just 3-4 feet from parked cars. The music and dancing continues for several hours. We tumble into bed around 2 AM smiling at experiencing New Year's Eve Ecuadorian style.
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